DIACRONIA

Art is a form of language.
The aesthetic map of the expanded modernity that we are currently traversing is an invitation to journey through unknown or insufficiently charted territories. In order to pursue an articulate conversation, we always need to adapt our own universe towards a polysemantic grammar anchored in the present.

Text by Marian Pălie, curator

The aesthetic pool we are swimming in is filled with cultural products that are no longer subject to any kind of critical or academic domination. This total freedom of expression is an asset we have earned and must be celebrated as a new facet of Freedom. In order not to become confused on the vast and sometimes uneven territory of contemporary art, we can appeal to a conceptual map, „which is, in itself, a generalization”.

The synchronicity between the universal artistic language and the diachrony of recent creative expression is the journey this exhibition aims to embark on.
The dynamics of diachrony are also specific to the contemporary aesthetic language. Time, with its variations, internal transformations, as well as those caused by external factors (historical, cultural, and political stimuli), generates a rapport of antinomy between synchronicity and diachrony.
The vocabulary of Romanian contemporary art is obviously and constantly developing a conceptual and aesthetic polyphony. Dynamic diversity, articulated discourse, as well as the vibrancy of the forms of expression, are dominant traits of the times we are living in.

Just as the exhibition SINCRONIA, in 2022, DIACRONIA (from the Greek „dia”, along, and „chronos”, time) attempts to archive the territory of creativity; it is a brief abstract of cultural and aesthetic conflict, a language of current states, as well as a topography of the present.

The exhibition’s architecture explores the history of the spatial evolution of the historical monument building Baia Turcească in Iași through the theme of diachrony. Constructed in the late 19th century in a Neo-Moorish style, the building is currently undergoing restoration and is hosting exhibitions of the three editions of the Romanian Creative Week festival held so far, while still in the construction phase. The opportunity to sneak peek the monument-space during the restoration work becomes itself a valuable occasion for a visit, especially within the context of a contemporary art exhibition.

With elements drawn from the procession of the bath, following the bodily exploration proposed by the artistic curation, the exhibition’s architecture subtly integrates into the space, becoming almost invisible: it feels like it belongs. Ceramic pieces, glass blocks, reflections of ‘water’, or lockers all in reimagined contemporary views, complement the complex spatiality of the monument and the exhibition, delicately articulating them. When the festival was over, pieces from the exhibition’s scenography remained in place, becoming a permanent addition to the existing space.

Project Specs:
Title: DIACRONIA
Location: Baia Turcească, Iași
Festival: Romanian Creative Week 2023
Curator: Marian Pălie
Exhibition architecture: AÉ02
Execution: Atelier Vast, Lemnia
Graphic design: Daniel & Andrew
Ceramics: SSAB Ambientare
Lighting design: Greentek Lighting